Muchas Gracias

"Muchas Gracias". This is probably my most commonly used Spanish phrase- in English. "thank you very much". A little thanks goes a long way and there is much to be appreciated in this country.

Here are a few things I've become very appreciative of in my first 2 weeks in Costa Rica:

1) My "tica" family: Dona Mari, my madre, and Natalia, my sister, are wonderful. They're so helpful and so patient with me and my Spanish. They prepare 2 meals a day for me at my house and it's so nice not to have to worry about what I need to make.  Most mornings and evenings I just walk into the kitchen and sit on my bar stool. There has yet to be a meal that I haven't enjoyed. They also make me feel like this is my new home. I look forward to coming home, lying down on the couch, watching Disney channel in Spanish (remember, there's a 2 yr old in the house), and telling them about my day.

2) Long walks (usually uphill): There aren't many things I leave the house for that don't require walking. Thankfully, I live in a beautiful city where the view is incredible no matter where you are. I've learned to take advantage of this time...even if I'm completely out of breath. This is the view when you walk out of the Walmart near my house:

3) Fruit: and lots of it! There's an insane variety of fruit grown in this country and even locally in the mountains near Escazu. I haven't quite learned the names of all of them, but I've been very open to trying just about anything! I usually eat fruit for breakfast and at another point during the day.The pineapple is my favorite...and the watermelon, of course. My madre and I went to the "feria" (farmers' market) bright and early Saturday morning to get the first pick on all the freshest and cheapest fruits and vegtables. Here's a few pictures:

4) Public transportation:  I'm on a bus for an hour per day- at least. I've started to really enjoy this time with my newest and closest friend, Nicki, as we ride to and from language school every weekday. We usually just talk, but we also use this time to put in headphones and listen to music, study Spanish, or memorize verses.

5) Rain, rain, and more rain: I've said it before, but it's the rainy season here in Costa Rica. It's guaranteed to start raining sometime between 1 and 3 pm. The worst mistake you can make here is forgetting your umbrella when you leave the house. I really don't mind the rain though because it makes everything so green, and when it's not raining the weather is perfect.

6) Bootlegged SportsCenter in English- Can I say that on here? I don't know...It's probably illegal, but either way, I love coming home from school and watching SportsCenter on a website Nicki's boyfriend told me about. I can't think of anything that makes me feel more at home. It's one of the few things I refuse to watch in Spanish even if it is to my benefit while I'm still learning the language...I gotta do what I gotta do.

7) Cafe con leche- There's just nothing like it anywhere in the States. If our YL team is meeting in Escazu we usually meet at this place that one of our committee members owns called Robin's Kitchen. She makes the best cafe con leche in San Jose, hands down.

8) My YL international schools team- There has not been a day yet in this country that I haven't spent with at least 3 of them. Here we are eating sushi together...what's not to appeciate about these women? From left to right: Me, Jessie Oliver, Alex Ridenour, Nicki Raimondo, and Ali Campbell.

 
See, I really do have so much to be thankful for! Even from a ministry standpoint, I have a huge "muchas gracias" to share. First, we were able to visit middle school and high school friends at 2 international schools last week: Lighthouse and Country Day. While at Lighthouse, we signed up to be substitute teachers- a huge and exciting praise! Then on Thursday, after visiting Country Day, we ended up having coffee and tea with the guy's varsity soccer coach and he offered me the opportunity to help coach the girl's varsity soccer team. My first practice with them will be this Tuesday! We have a good God who can use fun things like sports as an outlet for ministry. Muchas gracias!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever." -Psalm 136:1
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe." -Hebrews 12:28
"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift." -2 Corinthians 9:15

9 days and 3 hairbrushes later...

I'm now 9 days into my time here in San Jose...and strangely on my 3rd hairbrush of the trip.

Quick story there-the brush I initially brought was snapped in half on the trip over in my baggage, so I went and bought brush #2 at the monstrous Wal-Mart on this side of town. That was on Sunday.This morning, after a cold shower and tangled hair, I broke brush #2 when I tried to pull it through my hair. Today I purchased brush #3 in downtown San Jose. I spent the big bucks on this one, so let's hope it lasts. 9 days and 3 brushes is not a good record.

However, if broken hairbrushes are the worst thing that happen to me here, I'll take it. Fortunately, I have nothing but wonderful experiences to share so far. Nicki & I started language school at Universal de Idiomas in downtown San Jose on Monday. The commute to school is a 7 minute walk to the bus stop, a 20 minute bus ride into downtown, and then a 15 minute walk down Avenida Central to the school. It's taking some getting used to. The hardest part of the entire commute is drinking my coffee on the bumpy bus. There are 50 people at this language school with us; 48 of them are from one organization and there other 2 are Nicki and me. Of those 48 people, 4 of them are from the States. The rest are from Germany, Switzerland, England, Taiwan, Austria, Finland, Denmark, Sweden...etc. My level of instruction has 10 people in the class and 2 of us learned English as our first and only language. I think it's so interesting that all of us came to San Jose from all over the world and enrolled in the same school to become fluent in Spanish. When we communicate at school, the only language we have in common is Spanish. I think it is a very cool connection. I'll keep you updated on when I actually consider myself "fluent". The picture below is looking up to the top of my street in Escazu. I walk to the stop sign and take a left to get on the bus.

Another cool thing I've been able to do this week is go visit another international school called Lighthouse. Fortunately, YoungLife/WyldLife and my area director Jessie have great relationships with the administration at this school and I was able to sign up to be a substitute teacher. The school also happens to be where we have WyldLife club every other week in an awesome outdoor but covered amphitheater-like setup.

Finally, I want ya'll to know that I have good friends here. The girls I work with are wonderful...me caen muy bien*. While we do not get to all be together at once often, one of those times was last night. It became very evident to me that God has provided me with a community of godly women, approximately my age, with similar life experiences, and we are all responding to the same call God has placed on our lives. Living in another country is not always easy, but it's such a blessing that we get to live a "tica" life together. It's going to be a great year.

*"Me caen bien" is a tico saying that literally translates to, "they fall on me well". It is a common phrase that people use when they get along well with someone. (I just learned it today!)  

6 Dogs, 5 Days, 4 Friends, 3 Family Members, 2 Planes, and 1 Pura Vida later...I made it!

I arrived in Costa Rica on August 15th, 2011, to begin my internship and instantly began living "La Vida Tica". "Tico" is the Spanish word for a native Costa Rican (or "tica" for a female). Clearly, I am no where close to actually being an authentic tica, but in the small amount of time that I have been here, I sure am learning more and more about what that means!

Now, to explain my countdown:

• 6 Dogs- The host family I live with owns 6 dogs. Two cocker spaniels live inside the house with us, Kiwi & Tisha, and the other 4 live outside. The outside dogs are two labs, a German Shepherd, and a mutt. 
• 5 Days- I've been in the country for 5 days. 
• 4 Friends- I work with an awesome International Schools YoungLife staff here in San Jose: Jessie, Ali, Alex, & Nicki.  These four young women have become my newest and closest friends. 
• 3 Family Members- I live with a host family in a suburb of San Jose called Escazu. My family includes my wonderful madre, Marion, her daughter, Natalia, and Natalia's son, Santiago. 
• 2 Planes- It took two plans to get here; one from Knoxville to Houston and then from Houston to San Jose. 
• 1 Pura Vida- That's the tico motto here. It applies to anything and everything about Costa Rica. Es la Pura Vida. 

As far as our ministry here is concerned, our international schools ministry is only a small part of theYoungLife/Vida Joven presence in Costa Rica. YoungLife has been in Costa Rica for almost 30 years and has a well established nationals ministry called "Vida Joven" for Spanish speaking natives. Our branch of the ministry focuses on the international schools here where the curriculum is taught and our ministry is done in English. We had our leader retreat this weekend with all of the international school staff, interns, volunteer leaders, and student WyldLife leaders. What an incredible experience that was! High school students had me in tears as they described their desire for middle school students and their peers to know Christ. It was a refreshing reminder to me about my own purpose in being here, why I answered God's call to go, and how He can take what little I have to give and multiply it to fulfill His plan. Below is a picture of our student WyldLife leaders (high school students grades 10th-12th who lead middle school students grades 6th-8th) at the retreat.

To conclude this brief summary of my first few days here in San Jose, I'll share what has been a important verse for me as I prepared to come here and is still now that I am here. It is obviously the general theme of my blog and experience, as well as the first verse I memorized in Spanish. It's John 10:10, and in the words of Jesus Christ translated to Spanish: 

"El ladron no viene mas que a robar, matar, y destruir; Yo he venido para que tengan vida y la tengan en adundancia."